world's end ━ the walking dead

( 𝟎𝟓𝟐 ) unexpected illness

— THE PRISON FELT SAFE, THE safest that she had felt since the farm burnt down, when they had to spend months on the road, fighting for survival without a proper place to stay, without a proper place where they felt like they could walk around safely. The prison gave them a sense of security, and Zoe actually felt like she was truly home, something she hadn't felt since the end of the world; she knew that Nate felt the same way, he had opened up to everyone in the group since the farm, and so had his brother, the two actually feeling like they belonged now, instead of just existing. Zoe remembered when she first met Nate — she would have never believed that she would fall in love with him, that the boy would be her lifeline, the boy that kept her sane. In fact, she disliked him at first, along with Daryl and Merle, but after speaking to him, she realised he just hid behind his brothers, especially Merle, who enjoyed his brother living in his shadow; after getting to know him, Zoe realised that Nate was one of the most selfless people she had met, along with Daryl, and she was always surprised when she thought back to how they used to act with the group, and how they never truly felt accepted.

So, as the girl opened her eyes during the early hours of the morning, a smile formed on her face when she looked down and saw Nate's bare arm draped across her stomach, his head close to hers as he was still fast asleep. They had come a long way since their old camp in Atlanta, and the girl was entirely grateful to be able to wake up every morning with him besides her — if she had to spend a night away from him, she didn't even think she would be able to get to sleep, not since she had become so accustomed to sleeping besides him and having his body next to her all night. She didn't want to know the feeling of sleeping alone anymore; and she was sure that he didn't want to, either. The girl looked down at him with a small smile, his sleeping figure never failing to do so, but she knew that she had to get up and help Carol with the cooking for breakfast, something that she had been trying to get the hang of — she still couldn't cook properly, and she wanted to learn so she could help out more.
Rick and Carl went down to the farm section every morning and evening to deal with the pigs and the crops, something their dad had been dragging Carl along for since the boy had shot an innocent kid during the attack of the Governor. Zoe could tell that Carl was truly sorry and regretted what he did, but their dad just wanted to make sure that he didn't do something like that again, so he confiscated his gun until he felt that he could have it back.

Hearing her dad wake Carl up downstairs, the girl sighed, knowing she had to pry Nate's arm away from her stomach so she could get up, something she had to do every morning she cooked with Carol. She felt awful doing so, as the boy always looked so comfortable, she would stay in with him, but she really wanted to learn, so she had no other choice. Zoe leaned down and kissed Nate on the cheek, gently raising his arm as she did so, the boy stirring as she did so, his eyes opening slightly and seeing that his girl was trying to get up — he grunted in protest, bringing his arm back down again and pulling the girl against him, not wanting her to move as he was too comfy. "Nate. I have to meet Carol." Zoe whispered, stroking his long hair out of his face. His hair had definitely grown over the past few months, and she loved the look on him, she couldn't deny that her hair had grown a lot, too; in fact, she was tempted to cut it to the length she was normally used to, shoulder length, there's no doubt it would be mote practical.